U.S. Deficit Projection for Next Year: $1.6 Trillion

After several bank bailouts and a huge stimulus package, the order of the day is "massive deficit spending." The Times headline is "Deficit to Grow $100 Billion Under New Obama Budget" to a projected record-breaking $1.6 trillion, give or take a few hundred million -- the third year in a row the deficit's been over a trillion dollars, and a post-WWII record, or an all-time record, depending on what paper you're reading.

White House advisor Peter Orszag says the deficit will come down "as the economy recovers," which is good news for future generations, if we have any. The first drop is projected to come as soon as next fiscal year, to $1.3 trillion, but, the Washington Post says, deficits will remain "persistently high for years to come under Obama's policies."

Softening the blow somewhat -- or increasing it, if you are one of our many readers who make $200,000 a year or more -- is the anticipated sunsetting of the Bush tax cuts for high earners at the end of this year. The Wall Street Journal finds two Congressional Democrats who oppose letting the cuts expire. Photo (cc) aresauburn.